Destination Omaha

by Brent Crampton | Published September 2007 | Features Archives

LONG ARE THE MILES that the phenomenon of House Music has traveled. But here's a place you didn't foresee House Music affecting: Omaha, Nebraska.

Corn, cows and cowboys come to mind when mentioning Omaha. But instead try black, white, Latino, young and old - together and dancing to past guest DJs like Julius the Mad Thinker, Adam Gibbons and jojo flores.

That's what occurs one Thursday a month in an intimate Spanish restaurant in Omaha. And as DJ Sabine (Brooklyn Mecca) out of NYC said, "The Omaha buzz is spreading."

"loom: Weaving the Social Fabric Through Dance" is a global soul and House Music event held at Espana Tapas Bar. Created by host Jay "Rhythm SOULdier" Kline and myself, Brent Crampton, "At loom we are moving away from a city where individuals wallowed in their own socio-economic and ethnic comfort zone to a diverse community of people who truly desire to celebrate what they have in common," said Kline. "loom has transcended the dance party and House has been the conduit."

From House and disco classics to a crowd that's largely hearing them for the first time, to Fela Kuti afrobeat and Brazilian batucada, the humble gathering has changed the dance landscape in Omaha.

Patrons in the music community have traveled from NYC, Montreal, Chicago and Boston to not only play loom, but also just to dance.

"My visit to loom shattered my notions of what it might be like spinning to a Middle American crowd," said past guest DJ Adam Gibbons. "It was more diverse than parties that I've played in major cities and they were right there with me, trusting my selections with hands in the air and smiles on their faces."

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